81% of Britons think Government has handled Brexit talks badly, poll suggests

More than 80% of the country think the Government has handled the Brexit negotiations badly, a new poll suggests.

A survey by NatCen Social Research found that just 7% of Britons thought ministers had done a good job in the talks, while 81% said they were handling them badly.

The researchers asked more than 2,600 adults last month about their views on Brexit – and compared them with data from 2017.

It suggested that public faith in the negotiations has dramatically fallen.

In 2017, 41% said the talks were being handled badly by the Government, and 29% thought ministers were doing well.

The research also found both Leavers and Remainers were as likely to think the Prime Minister’s deal is bad – 66% and 64% respectively – up from 20% and 56% in 2017.

And the figures suggested a rise in the number of people who think Brexit will negatively impact the economy – up from 46% in 2017 to 58% in 2019.

John Curtice, senior research fellow at NatCen Social Research, said: “Given the polarisation of attitudes, there was always a risk that the Brexit negotiations would result in an outcome that would fail to satisfy most voters.

“But what perhaps is particularly remarkable is that Leave voters have become just as critical as Remain supporters of both the process and the outcome.

“That is not an outcome that would necessarily have been anticipated, and certainly does not help the Prime Minister in her efforts to secure parliamentary approval of the deal.”